HD Radar

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toyman

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Is HD worth the 20% markup over the "regular" radar. I'll have a Garmin 4210 & a 498 on the new boat, now trying to figure out if I NEED radar - I have NO schedules that make me leave the dock - and if I NEED it is the HD worth the bucks ? My eyes have trouble determining the difference in regular & HD TV from across the room, yet all my TV's do the 1080i...
 
I have not used the new HD so can not say how good it is, but I hear that the target seperation is better and the power usage is lower.

As for whether or not you need it, well that depends. I say if you do need it you better have it. As far as not leaving the dock if it's foggy, most times I have needed radar the fog came while I was out and I NEEDED it to get back to the dock. Summer here is fog time on the water and It can just pop out of no where in a short amount of time. Some times you can drive around it but its always where I need to go because I'm Irish, if it was not for bad luck I would not have luck at all. If you can afford it get it.
 
I can't speak to the differences between HD radar and regular radar. I can tell you that, at least up here in the PNW, you will get caught out in fog at some point and if you don't have radar you'll really wish you did. I find it really nice knowing that I can go when I want and not have to worry about visibility.

One example. Last August I was at our cabin in the San Juans for the weekend. I needed to be back in Seattle for something at 4. I left the cabin about 10 in sunny skies, but Rosario Strait was socked in. No more than 100 yard visibility. The radar was already running and I slowed down to 6 knots for the uneventful crossing. It's great to know exactly where you are in relation to everyone else...

So, for me radar is a must. It's really not all that expensive, I think my Raymarine unit was about $1000.
 
In this case- Yes.

The HD is Garmin's third or fourth generation of radar. Their early versions were not effective as radars. Reports I have heard are that the new HD units give much better (and useful) images.

Besides, I think you have to use the HD with the 4000 / 5000 series of display.
 
Hi Dave,

Having not run behind an HD radar, I can't give you a hands-on impression. But, when it comes to whether or not to have radar, this opinion is: it depends. Cop-out? Well, it depends on how much you're going to use your boat and where. We have found the need for radar more frequent when we're in the PNW than on the Gulf Coast. However, when you need it, it makes the difference between a white-knuckled ride and a slow, cautious ride. I would not want to be without it. Let me rephrase that: I will not be without it on any boat we intend to cruise. If all you plan to do is day-tripping, you can probably do without. It's the difference between IFR and VFR flight conditions/rules/capabilities. There are going to be conditions you don't want to be out in, no matter what... the odds of those conditions coming up unforecast are slim. But we've run into fog when it wasn't forecast, and having radar made the difference between getting in where you intended or being out where you are exposed.

The 25 is a very capable boat. The radar extends the safety factor of those capabilities.

Good luck with your decisions.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Dave,
I would say that radar is a plus, it is fairly cheap insurance for the peace of mind it gives to boating. I have it on my 22' and would not travel without it. As for hd I have not used it so I can not speak to those issues.

Dan.
 
I have been caught out by fog more than once. The radar is invaluable. I can recall being in heavy fog in Rosario Strait, hearing the fog horn of an oceangoing vessel, having very little idea where it was, checking the radar again,again,again and seeing a really big blip. I was able to maneuver and watch the vast bulk of that vessel pass about 100 yds in front of me instead of over me. I'm a believer. But, if your vessel is radar equipped, according to Colregs, you are required to have it on so if you had a collision and your radar was not on you'd be wrong from the get-go. I spend a fair amount of time trying to become more radar proficient and would feel very unsafe cruising these waters without radar.
 
OK, I for one feel I need radar, for all the examples given above.

HOWEVER, note that the cheapest radar is about $1300 and will work in identifying ships/boats/piers just fine. Overlay plotters, color, better discrimination, etc are great but only run the price up. So if cost is a consideration, and it certainly is in my house, remember that the cheapest radar will provide 97% of the information an expensive one does. That big ship will show up on either one, as will the shoreline.

I love the plotter, but it shows different information than the radar, and don't get them confused.

Boris
 
I have a Raymarine C80 chartplotter and the Raymarine 2KW radar. The radar overlays onto the chartplotter display so I see the navchart with a radar overlay. I added a fluxgate compass to improve the overlay, (something about the relative position refresh times of the gps and the chartplotter). I can have charts alone, radar alone, the overlay or any combination of the above plus depth etc. by splitting the screen. Were I to do it over again I might get the 4kw radar, it will not see any farther, (that has to do with earth curvature and antenna height), but it will provide better discrimination. If the HD radar were available and not too outrageous I'd probably go for that. What I'd really like is a military style phased array radar :)
 
Thanks for all of the "sage" (is that used as a spice?) advise. I value all of it.
Thanks Again.
 
I have the new (last year) Garmin HD 18" radar on my boat. It seems to work nicely, but it's the only radar I've ever seen or used, so I can't compare. It's fun to run it in good visibility and learn what real objects look like on the display.

Some really small stuff, like lobster floats, will show up intermittently. It's there a few seconds, then it's gone, then it's back. Bigger stuff is a lot more consistent. Larger navigation buoys, many boats (but not all), piers, breakwaters, etc.

Some boats are stealth craft and just don't show up well. Anything big, like a commercial fishing boat, is quite visible.

I've got a plastic Hobie kayak that's often right up there on the roof in the path of the radar and it seems invisible. Not much metal in the kayak.

I keep meaning to set my kayak adrift with my radar reflector on it and then scope it out from various angles and distances with the boat radar, but I haven't gotten to that experiment yet.

Jeff
 
It's amazing how small of a reflection signature can exist with some 30' boats. It of course depends on a lot of factors, angles, reflective material, radar settings, etc. but in thick fog I would want someone staring at the monitor while the helmsman is watching outside.
 
journey on":3tbpc41b said:
HOWEVER, note that the cheapest radar is about $1300 and will work in identifying ships/boats/piers just fine. Overlay plotters, color, better discrimination, etc are great but only run the price up. So if cost is a consideration, and it certainly is in my house, remember that the cheapest radar will provide 97% of the information an expensive one does. That big ship will show up on either one, as will the shoreline.
Boris
Click to expand...

Here here, Boris. I'm in your camp fer sure. Though I certainly enjoyed the benefits of the C80 system on the Jenny B, I would have been satisfied with a B/W screen radar or that nice JRC you have. As you say, 97% is certainly better than nothing and is more than adequate for a 22-28 ft. boat.

On the other hand, boys will have toys and I can't fault anyone for going for the gold. Some of those new radars are phenomenal and a joy to play with, but at the risk of repeating myself ad nauseum, getting down to "stuck in a thick fog" I don't have time for the bells and whistles. Just staying clear of _________(fill in the blank) and getting home is way more essential.

Don
 
While we're talking about inexpensive B&W LCD radar, I still have a new RL70 display, in the original box that is cluttering up the boat shop. I lit it off once on the old CD22 to make sure it worked, and it works fine.

Add a radome of your choice and you've got a system.

I'll post it on the Accessories for sale site.

Charlie
 
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